A Complicated Web

Chapter Seventy: Won't Let That Happen

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"Sorry," Cass mouthed as she stepped over the guard who had, only moments before, stood watch in front of her room. It wasn't like she'd wanted to do this, but desperate times called for desperate measures. And there was nothing on earth that could keep her from saving her baby boy.

The woman strode out into a corridor like she knew exactly where she was going. And, for the most part, she thought she did. At least everything so far looked familiar, though she couldn't be a hundred percent sure. She had been kicking and screaming on the way back, in a manner of speaking. And she hadn't thought to pay as much attention as she should have when heading up to the bridge earlier that morning. Well, she'd find a way there even if she had to walk every inch of the ship, though she really hoped it wouldn't come to that.

Cass had her fists clenched, a silent goading reminder that she was supposed to be livid. It would make her that less afraid of standing up to the Maria Hill, who seemed to have nerves of steel and a greater command of the stink eye than she did. She was definitely a woman to be reckoned with.

Someone cleared their throat and Cass paused, her eyes going wide. That was so not supposed to happen and her brain hit a momentary glitch as she tried to think of what to do in this situation. The noise had sounded masculine in nature, and from a somewhat familiar sounding throat. She slowly turned around.

Phil Coulson stood politely in the corridor, watching her. "I understand you're unhappy with the way Agent Hill is handling the extraction of your nephew," he said without preamble, his hands behind his back, shoulders at ease. "And while some of her methods can be considered extreme at times, I don't doubt her ability to safely coordinate the rescue operation currently underway."

Cass couldn't help but look a bit sheepish as he held out a hand, indicating for her to precede him down the hall, in a completely different direction than she'd been originally heading. "I may have gotten a little carried away," she admitted, guiltily remembering the unconscious man outside her assigned quarters.

Phil gave a somewhat bemused half chuckle as he indicated she should enter through a doorway just ahead. "I'm sure you'll be happy to know that the guard you rendered unconscious only suffered a mild concussion from your actions."

The room they'd entered held a large window, which overlooked the events below. But unlike the command deck, there were several comfortable-looking chairs interspersed with a few tables. "Mess room," Phil explained at her questioning glance. "I thought it might be a better place to talk while letting you still get a view of the action below."

Cass moved towards the window in question, her fingers trembling a bit against the glass as she pressed her palms against the surface. "I'm sure Miss Hill is a wonderful person but I can't help but worry," she confessed. "What if all the explosions down there make the base cave in?" She turned slightly to look at the agent.

"We won't let that happen," Coulson assured her. "I'm not sure you noticed, but she was aiming for areas less likely to affect the whole structure. She's well aware of the possible ramifications of a misguided strike. And if it weren't for the opposing forces setting off some explosions of their own, she likely wouldn't lay down such heavy suppression fire."

She watched him as he went over to a coffee machine and poured a mug of dark brew. "Care for some?" he asked, well aware of her scrutiny. "I promise it's not laced with anything, unlike the tea they left in your room. I think Agent Hill had you moved so you wouldn't make the others nervous. As for myself, I've had my eye on you the entire time."

Cass watched as he poured a second cup of coffee before bringing it over to her. "I guess I was a bit distracting," she ceded, feeling somehow calmer despite her earlier agitation. If she didn't look towards the large pane of glass, she could almost forget what was going on down below them. It wasn't quite the same as when she'd talk to Bruce Banner, but Coulson had a similar calming atmosphere to him.

"You might be interested to know that several Hydra agents tried to infiltrate your café," Phil continued, watching her closely as she sipped the brew. "Thanks to the men we had in place, their attempts failed, though I'm sure they now realize you're not there."

She set the mug down on the closest table, sitting down in the nearest chair as her legs threatened to give out from under her. "They went to the café?"

Coulson moved to sit across from her. "I'm sure you realize they were there to try and collect you, perhaps in the hopes of using you in the very manner we discussed only yesterday. It's fortunate you took it upon yourself to leave for New York when you did. Had you waited even a few more hours, you might not be standing here now but somewhere down in the facility beneath us."

Cass swallowed hard, feeling somewhat sick at that announcement. "They were trying to kidnap me too?" She blinked rapidly a few times, leaning back against her chair.

He reached out a hand but didn't quite touch her. "As I said, you weren't there for them to take and the men we had in place managed to prevent them from entering. You should be able to go back to an undisturbed building. I have some men keeping an eye on things in case they try again, though I don't think it likely."

A shudder ran through her as she wrapped her arms around her chest, tears pricking at her eyes. "Will they never leave us alone?" she asked. "When Hiro showed us he was smarter than the average person, we had to deal with a lot of reporters, especially when he graduated high school early. They just didn't want to leave us alone. But now... now I don't even know why they're going after us!"

Sensing an oncoming waterfall, Phil found some napkins before moving his chair to sit directly next to hers. He didn't even flinch as she leaned against him, all but sobbing into his shoulder. He placed a gentle hand around her shoulders with a somewhat grim smile. This family had been through enough. It was time to make sure her nephew came home.

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Tony wasn't really sure how far down he should go so he decided to just go down as far as the elevator shaft would let him. And with Wasabi practically screaming in his ear, he was glad it wasn't as long a drop as it could have been. It helped that he could go faster than a typical elevator. In the end, they wound up on top of the elevator car assigned to that particular shaft, which was presumably at the very bottom floor.

Honey and Fred weren't too far behind. Honey did have to abandon her stretchy goo a few feet above the actual spot and simply let it fling back like one of those sticky hand toys anyone could find in a little vending machine for a few quarters. Fred had opted to slide down the cables and had to blow his covered hands off once his feet hit solid ground.

Sounds of potential conflict came from the other side of the doors as Tony finally managed to pry Wasabi from his back. There was definitely something going down on the other side and they all looked at each other, some a bit more nervously than others, and nodded. It was all or nothing.

Tony forced the door open in time to see two men running past with what looked like some kind of metal log with handles. He immediately knew what it was for, forcing open doors. He's seen them used many times, though the exact name for the device slipped his mind. One thing was certain, these people were not from SHIELD so he jumped to the defensive to stop them from doing whatever it was they were doing.

"Let's go!" Honey called out in excitement. From the sound of things, there were a lot of people ahead and she was more than ready to get back to work. Fred gave an infectious grin as he flipped his mask back in place. Wasabi gave a nervous kind of frown but was soon caught up in the flow of adrenaline that was almost palpable in the air.